Mechanism for opening and ejecting the contents of boxes



C. T. HALL Jan. 23, 1945.

MECHANISM FOR OPENING AND EJECTING THE CONTENTS OF BOXES Filed Jail. 11, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 23, 1945. Q HALL 2,368,@2G

MECHANISM FOR OPENING AND EJECTING THE CONTENTS OF BOXES Filed Jan. 11, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 fivenfor (2.771442? Jan. 23, H945. c. T. HALL MECHANISM FOR OPENING AND EJECTING THE CONTENTS OF BOXES Filed Jan. 11, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 ,3 war; MWW

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c. T. HALL 2,368,020

MECHANISM FOR OPENING AND EJECTING THE CONTENTS OF BOXES Jean. 23, 1945.

Filed Jan.

11, 1945- 6 SheetsSheet 4 $331.23, 1945. a T; HALL 2,368,026

MECHANISM FOR OPENING AND EJECTINL': LHH CONTENTS OF BOXES Filed Jan. 13.; 11.54.53 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Even/2 0?" 0.11 B5, walla, M, LUQKM I 'HTTY 5 Jan. 23, 1945. c. T. HALL 2,368,020

MECHANISM FOR OPENING AND EJECTING THE CONTENTS OF BOXES Filed Jan. 11, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 I M w M P CHnRusT. HALL I?! V6712 0 7 AROVRELS Patented Jan. 23, 1945 2,368,020 MECnANIsMpPENiNG ANiijiJiiTiiQG 'THE'CONTENTS F BOXES I Charles Thomas Hall,; Deptford, London, England, assignor to Molin s Machine Company; Limited,

London, England Appiieanonmnuer y 11, 1 43','-'sens1N 472,688 InGi'eat-Biitain January 12,1942

8 Claims. (01. 214 1.1)

This invention concerns improvements in 'oi' relating to mechanism for opening and ejecting "the contents of boxes. Ihe boxeswith which the invention is concerned are of the kind which comprises a tube made of cardboard or Iikeinate'rial', in which one end at least is closed by a 'fiap havin a portion folded so as to lie within end against the tube. Silch boxes Will be referred to as boxes of the kind described? The object of the invent on is to firdvide an improved mechanism whereby boxes of the kind described may be opened and their contents ejecte'd endv/i's'e.

According to the present invention there is provided mechanism for openingboites' of the kind described, wherein an element having a claw, barb or other like projection is arranged to be inserted into and Withdrawn from an end of the box having a closure flap, the claw or "the like projection being moved into theb'oz z' (e; g; be-

yond the end of the folded portion of the na and caused to ehga/g'ethe 'flap '(e. g. the edge of the folded portion of the an ,"whereby on withdrawal of the element the claw or like projection Withdraws the flap;

Further according to the invention the? firo'vided mechanism for opening and; ej'ec contents of boxes of the kind descri wherein the tube has a fi'ap'a s aforesaid ate comprisin in cor'nloinatioh means to" feed boxes in succession from a supply, means 126 mm. draw the end flaps from engagement with ai'box, guide members to raise the withdrawn end fines as the box is moved later'ailv and to hold said flaps clear of the open ends of the boxja'nd a pushing member arranged to 'e'nt'enthe box at one end and eject the contents endvvis'e through the opposite end.

A machine made in accordance'with the invention will now be described by Way of exa'inbie with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figures 1A and .13 together comprise/a front elevation of the machine;

Figure 2 is a planof the machine.

Figure 3 is a side elevation looking rection of the arrow Arie-ore 1-A.

Figure 4' is a diagrammatic plan of the unper part of Figure 2 and only shows the essential elements of the box feeding and opening device's.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of a; box showing an opening'element engaging aclo'sure flap;

Figures 6 and '7 are a plan and elevation re spectively of an opening element" drawn toa larger sealer 1 inthe di- Figure" isfis ra -52c.

of the kind described, the b ing ci'cisi-ir'e fl aips aeeecne belts. The erasure nae end-mi lio fine box H 'riiairked The machine is arranged 'tdfeed the links into a" hn-te 2 1 mm "the delivered toa ftirther 'Ina'chi' indicated at meme 1B;

omen "a, re pt clep'f az'ine stain or taxes; In :m nre l-3 'the lowerend bf the rert nand 1 (iftljie' N zinc is broken awa 'es m'ese' Io v'ver ends e line With the other parts, but the shape s la/1 to that 'ofthe right-hand r511 wh shown. A pat-t of sloping guides f devices 1 is prov ded; one being fixed end of the'table, forthe iififiosebf engag'i the flaps E and F of the box after meeting en Withdfiawfi afid Biol-cling"them' 'clean' bf-the bfven ends of tne box.

A pusher menoer 8 ishdfiiiistbl'jfiic'd on th'e ubfie'r ends or a; ean flitie' 'ver's 9 end Wwhich arepivoted at Il'in a bifieiift"! 2 'nteenea tefdie frame l3 of the machine. The lower end ort'he lever to an ektensieh i4 eel-tying a rolier l 5- which engages; h the sniff-ace of e cro'v't'n cahi l6 fiked the ain shaft W of the chine; The upper ends-orthe levers an it are urged toflmo-ve' by af's'p'rin'g a" rec ee to the fra'aneoi the machine; and* a ihe'ved diitivardii by the new 'IB:

pusher member 8 moves into and out of the lower part of the magazine for the stack of boxes.

The main shaft l'l carries a further cam l9 whose edge engages a roller 28 attached to a lever 2| which is fixed at its lower end to a spindle 22 pivoted in the frame, its upper end being connected by a link 23 to a slide 24 slidable in guides 25 fixed to the table 4. A rod 26 is fixed to the slide and has a pusher 21 at its other end. The rod passes through a guide bracket 28 fixed on the table. A spring 18 effects the return movement of the lever 2|. As the camoperated lever 2| is oscillated, the plunger is moved to and fro along the table in a direction transverse to the direction in which the boxes are moved over the table.

A further lever 28 is fixed to the spindle 22 and is connected by a link 30 to an arm 3| of a three-armed lever pivoted at 32 on a pin fixed in the frame of the machine. The uppermost arm 33 of this three-armed lever has pivotally mounted on it a bell-crank lever, one arm 34 of which is arranged to move to and fro over the table. The arm 34 has at its free end a. claw or barb 35 in the form of a projection on its upper surface which claw is shown more clearly in Figures 6 and 7. In these views it will be seen that the claw is serrated or toothed and alternate serrations are sharp and blunt. The sharp points enter the material of the box fiap and the blunt parts form stops or registers to limit the penetration.

The bell-crank lever is pivoted to the arm 33 by a pin 36 surrounded by a torsion spring 31 which is arranged to urge the arm 34 towards the table surface. The other arm 38 of the bellcrank depends from the pivot and when the arm 33 moves outwardly the arm 38, as will be more fully described later, is engaged by an adjusting screw 39 located in the arm 33. The screw in question is omitted from Figure 1A, but a similar screw bearing the reference 39 is shown at the left of the figure.

' A similar claw member is provided at the opposite endof the bed and moved in the opposite direction to that of the first claw member. This second claw member is operated by a lever 40 pivoted to the frame at 4| and connected by a link 42 with the lowermost arm 43 of the abovementioned three-armed lever. The other parts of the device-which are similar to those previously described bear similar references.

A bracket 44 is fixed at each end of the table 4 and to each bracket there is pivotally attached at 45 a lever 48 which is pulled downwards by a spring 41. A pin 48 is fixed to the lever 46 and at times this pin is engaged by the upper part of the bell-crank lever. Thus the free end of the lever 46 is caused to rise and fall at predetermined intervals. At the free end there is fixed a needle 61. On each bracket 44 there is also fixed a pin The guides 5 are joined by a bar 68 and the whole structure is hinged at 49 so that it can swing upwards about said hinge. Brackets 58 fixed to the bar 68 engage the tops of the parts 1 and locate the structure in the working position.

As shown, the machine is driven from the cartridge belt assembling machine, see Figure 1B. The mainshaft 52 of this machine has a bevel gear wheel 53 fixed on it which engages another bevel gear wheel 54 fixed on an inclined shaft 55 journalled in brackets as shown. A further bevel gear wheel 56 on said shaft transmits the drive to another bevel gear wheel 51 on a stub shaft 58. A sprocket 59 is also fixed to said shaft and a chain 60 tranmits the drive to a sprocket 6| on the main shaft IT. This last sprocket is not fixed to the shaft but has a number of holes in it spaced apart around a circle concentric with the shaft axis. A pin 62 fixed on a handwheel 63 is normally located in one of the holes and as the handwheel is coupled to the shaft by a key the drive is transmitted to the shaft through the pin. If the handwheel is pulled outwards, that is, in the direction of the arrow Figure 2, and against the resistance of the spring 64, the pin is disengaged from the sprocket and the machine is stopped.

The operation of the machine is as follows, and is best followed by reference to Figure 4. Boxes filled with links are placed in the magazine 6 one on top of another to form a vertical stack. On rotation of the main shaft, the crown cam 16 and spring I8 cause the pusher 8 to-move to and fro, and thus the pusher member moves into contact with the side of the lowermost box of the stack and pushes it laterally across the bed into a position in which it lies directly between and in line with the two claw members, which at this stage are drawn back beyond the edges of the table. On further rotation of the shaft, the pusher member 8 is drawn back and when it is clear of the magazine the stack of boxes moves downwardly so that the lowermost box of the stack becomes in turn supported on the table. At the same time the two claw members move inwardly toward each other to the position indicated in Figure 4, the movements being more fully described later.

Each box is disposed with th folded-in portions F of its end flaps in contact with the lower side wall of the box. As the claw members move inwardly, the leading edges of the claw members come into contact with the flaps E of the boxes, and on continued movement pass between the flaps F and the lower side wall of the box. At about the end of this inward movement the barbs reach a position where a link is located and the resistance offered thereby is sufl'icient to cause the barbs to enter the material of the flaps F, since the insertion of the claws causes the flaps to be pressed against the links. By this action the flaps will be withdrawn when the claw members move outwardly.

The claws are supported as previously mentioned on the bell-crank levers which are pivoted to the three-armed lever, and the lever 48 respectively. The torsion springs tend to press the bases of the claw members towards the table 4 as they move over the latter but as the claws move off the table they swing through an are about the pivots 32 and 4| as soon as the stop screws 39 contact the arms 38 of the bell-cranks, and all the parts move as one. Later in the outward movement the arms 38 strike against the fixed pins 5| and then the bell-cranks execute a slight rotation on their pivots 36. Thus as the claws move inwards again these movements are reversed and they swing downwards with an arc'uate movement as they approach the flaps E. Owing to the arcuate movement of the claw members as they move inwardly, their leading edges, as they pass between the end flaps and the lower side wall of the box, have a downward component of movement until they engage the lower side wall, whereupon the claw members turn slightly on their pivots 36 against the action of the springs 31, and the leading end of the claw ascmcao members slide inwardly along the lower side wall of the box. On the withdrawal movement, the ends of the claw members slide back along the lower side wall of the box until such time as the stops 3%, and later the pins 5!, are again engaged by the bell-cranks upon which the claw members move upward and outward and complete the withdrawal of the end flaps.

When the claw members have been Withdrawn,

the pusher member 3 again moves inwardly and pushes the lowermost box of the stack laterally across the bed into position between the claws. The box on which the claw members have just operated is thus moved still further across the table by the oncoming box into a position nearer i into line with the reciprocating pusher21. As this box is thus moved laterally, the withdrawn end flaps are engaged by the lower portions of the'sloping guides, the flaps being raised thereby and held clear of the open ends of the box.

The feeding or two further boxes brings the box first mentioned into line'with the pusher 21 and when a box arrives in this position the pusher 2? moves inwardly and enters-the open end of the box, ejecting the links through the opposite end. At the same time, owing tothe connection between the levers operating the pusher 2'! and the claw members, the claw mem-- bers move inwardly and commence to operate on the box now in the opening position in the manner described above, the inward movement ofthe claws coinciding with that of the pusher 21. When the pusher is withdrawn from the first box the claw members are likewise withdrawn from the box being opened.

The pusher member 8 again moves inwardly and a further box is moved across the bed, with the result that the first box, which is now empty, is pushed oi the bed down-a plate 65 while another box is moved into position in line with the pusher 2?.

The links as they are ejected from a box move by gravity down the chute 2 which forms a continuation of the surface of the table, and thence are fed by any suitablemeans to the'assembling machine.

As the links are loose in a box, it may happen, particularly in the case of boxes containing small links, that the entry of the claws and withdrawal of the flaps tends to displace-or pull out alink. To prevent this the needles 6! are provided and are caused to penetrate the material of the top of the box and project through suificiently far to prevent a link from moving out. These'needl'es are raised by the bell-cranks as they swing upwards on the outward movement of the claws, the arms t l engaging the pins 48 on the levers 1 3. As a fresh box comes into the opening position the levers M are pulled down by the springs 41 as soon as the arms 34 have moved in again sufliciently to allow this.

In boxes of the kind described, the folded portion which lies within and against the tube'has to be of a certain minimum length in order that it may retain the end flap in position and consequently in a thin box of this kind (e. g. the box shown in Figures 4 and 5) the folded portion has to be nearly as long as in the case of a thicker box, for example a box half an inch thickhas a folded portion equal in length to that of a box one inch thick. It will be seen that where articles such as links are contained in such a thin box, the claw members would have tomove into the box a distance equal to that occupied by several links. in. order toengagethe end-.of theifiapIF, and 17.5

in Figures 8 and9, and then operated to move through arcs as shown until they contact with the flaps E of the boxes and on continued movement pass between the flaps F and the lower side wall until at the end of the movement the extreme edges :of the flaps F are engaged by the :claws so that when the movement reverses the flaps are pulled out.

Figures 10 and 11 show another kind of open- :ing device in'which the claw is made of resilient material such as spring steel and clamped 'as shown to the opening arms.

As the mechanism herein described is intended for attachment to another machine, such for example as'the machine referred to for assembling :loullets fOr automatic guns, it is important that the continuous supply of the articles contained in the boxes shall be maintained, and sometimes boxes are inadequately filled or for some other reasons the supply of links is temporarily interrupted. For instance if a flap fails to open the box may jam. In order to compensate for such defects, means is provided for advancing feeding of the present mechanism relatively to the other machine. This is efiected by driving the present mechanism from said machine by the means described which is operated in the following manner:

If a box jams it may be cleared by lifting the guides-5 aboutthe hinge a latch 65 being provided for holding the guides up while the box -is removed. 'Meanwhile the machine 'may be stopped by pullin the'handwheel in the direction of the arrow as previously described. Then the guides may be lowered and the handwheel may be rotated to advance the machine untilthe chute =2-'is once more'filledw'ith links to normal capacity and the handwheel can then be'released and the pin 52 will engage the nearest hole inthe sprocket ='Bl whereupon the mechanical driving is resumed.

In some cases it may not'be convenient to permitthe-machine to jam if a' box flap fails to open. For instance if the material of the box is comparatively stiff or rigid'the *iamming of the box maybe suificiently -severe'to cause injury to the machine. To overcome this objection a device, such as is shownin Figure 12, may be associated with eaoh of the unfolding devices "I. The device consists'of a bracket ll screwed on to the member l, and having its free end formed as a pivot at 'lZ. A lever 13 israttached to the pivot and its iree end isnormally inengagement with a flap which has just been opened by the device I and therefore standing upright between'the device I and the lever 13.

The lever '13 presses against the stud of a .switch 14 whichis .oithe kind known as a Microswitch. These switches, although of small size and requiring only a slight movement of the stud to .operatethem, arefit for use in an ordinary power circuit and the connections from the switch, which are indicated by wires in the fig- -ure, lead tothe motor which drives the machine, and normally the stud is pressed inwards by the .fiaps of the boxes, and under these conditions the motor .is running. If, however,.a boxfiap Vfails :toopen, there .willbe no flap between the lever J3 and the surface :of the member 1, and the zspring pressureaofzthe :switchistud will .moverthe lever towards the right and the switch will move into the off position, and the motor will stop.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Mechanism for opening tubular cardboard boxes having a closure flap at at least one end, said flap having a portion folded so as to lie within and against the tube when closed, said mechanism comprising a support for a box, an element having a claw-like projection, means arranged to insert said element into and to withdraw it from an end of a box having a'closure flap when said box is on said support, said means being so arranged that the claw-like projection is moved into the box and caused to engage the flap, whereby on withdrawal of the element the claw-like projection withdraws the flap, a pointed element adapted to penetrate a wall of a box and prevent any of the contents from being withdrawn by said opening element, and means movable in timed relationship with the claw-like element to cause the pointed element to hold the contents against withdrawal during the opening of the flap.

2. Mechanism for opening tubular cardboard boxes having a closure flap at each end, each said flap having a portion folded so as to lie within and against the tube when closed said mechanism comprising a support for a box, feeding means to feed boxes in succession from a sup ply to said support, elements having claw-like projections, means to insert said elements into and withdraw them from the respective ends of a box when said box is on said support, said means being so arranged that the claw-like elements are moved into the box to engage the flaps, whereby on withdrawal the claw-like elements withdraw the flaps, means to move a box laterally from said support after the flaps have been withdrawn, guide members to engage the withdrawn end flaps as the box moves laterally and to hold said fiaps clear of the open ends of the box and a pusher member arranged to enter the box at one end and eject the contents endwise through the opposite end of the box.

3. Mechanism for opening tubular cardboard boxes having a closure flap at each end, each said fiap having a portion folded so as to lie within and against the tube when closed, said mechanism comprising a support for a box, feeding means to feed boxes in succession from a supply to said support, elements having claw-like projections, means to insert said elements into and withdraw them from the respective ends of a box when said box is on said support, said means being so arranged that the claw-like elements are moved into the box to engage the flaps whereby on withdrawal the claw-like elements withdraw the flaps, means to move a box laterally from said support after the flaps have been withdrawn, guide members to engage the withdrawn end flaps as the box moves laterally and to hold said flaps clear of the open ends of the box, a pusher member arranged to enter the box at one end and eject the contents endwise through the opposite end of the box, and means movable in timed relationship with the pointed elements and claw-like elements to cause said elements to hold the contents from being withdrawn during the opening of the flaps.

4. Mechanism for opening tubular cardboard boxes having a closure flap at each end, each said flap having a portion folded so as to lie within and against the tube when closed, said mechanism comprising a support for a box, feeding means to feed boxes in succession from a supply to said support, elements having clawlike projections, means to insert said elements into and withdraw them from the respective ends of a box when said box is on said support, said means bein so arranged that the claw-like elements are moved into the box beyond the end of the folded portion of the flap and caused to engage the edge of the folded portion, whereby on withdrawal the clawlike elements withdraw the flaps, means to move a box laterally from said support after the flaps have been withdrawn, guide members to engage the withdrawn end flaps as the box moves laterally and to hold said flaps clear of the open ends of the box, and a pusher member arranged to enter the box at one end and eject the contents endwise through the opposite end of the box.

5. Mechanism for opening tubular cardboard boxes having a closure flap at each end, each said flap having a portion folded so as to lie within and against the tube when closed, said mechanism comprising a support for a box, feeding means to feed boxes in succession from a supply to said support, elements having clawlike projections, means to insert said elements into and withdraw them from the respective ends of a box when said box is on said support,

, said means being so arranged that the clawlike elements are moved into the box beyond the end of the folded portion of the flap and caused to engage the edge of the folded portion, whereby on withdrawal the claw-like elements withdraw the flaps, means to move a box laterally from said support after the flaps have been withdrawn, guide members to engage the withdrawn end flaps as the box moves laterally and to hold said flaps clear of the open ends of the box, a pusher member arranged to enter the box at one end and eject the contents endwise through the opposite ends of the box, and means movable in timed relationship with the pointed elements and claw-like elements to cause said elements to hold the contents from being withdrawn during the opening of the flaps.

6. Mechanism for opening tubular carboard boxes having a closure flap at each end, each said flap having a portion folded so as to lie Within and against the tube when closed, said mechanism comprising a. support for a box, feeding means to feed boxes in succession from a supply to said support, elements having clawlike projections, means to insert said elements into and withdraw them from the respective ends of a box when said box is on said support, said means being so arranged that the clawlike elements are moved into the box to engage the flaps, whereby on withdrawal the claw-like elements withdraw the flaps, means to move a box laterally from said support after the flaps have been withdrawn, guide members to engage the withdrawn end flaps as the box moves laterally and to hold said flaps clear of the open ends of the box, a pusher member arranged to enter the box at one end and eject the contents endwise through the opposite end of the box, and

an electric switch detector device adapted to within and against the tube when closed, said mechanism comprising a. support for a box, feed- ,ing means to feed boxes in succession from a supply to said support, elements having clawlike projections, means to insert said elements into and withdraw them from the respective ends of a box when said box is on said support, said means being so arranged that the clawlike elements are moved into the box to engage the flaps, whereby on withdrawal the claw-like elements withdraw the flaps, means to move a box laterally from said support after the flaps have been withdrawn, guide members to engage the withdrawn end flaps as the box moves laterally and to hold said flaps clear of the open ends of the box, a pusher member arranged to enter the box at one end and eject the contents endwise through the opposite end of the box, means movable in timed relationship with the pointed elements and claw-like elements to cause said elements to hold the contents from being withdrawn during the opening of the flaps, and an electric switch detector device adapted to cooperate with the opened flaps and operable to stop the mechanism ii a closure flap is not opened.

8. Mechanism for opening tubular cardboard boxes having a closure flap at at least one end, said flap having a portion folded so as to lie within and against the tube when closed, said mechanism comprising a support for a box, an

' element having a claw-like. projection, means arranged to insert said element into and to withdraw it from an end of a box having a closure flap when said box is on said support, said means being so arranged that the claw-like projection is moved into the box and caused to engage the flap, whereby on withdrawal of the element the claw-like projection withdraws the flap, and an electric switch detector device adapted to cooperate with the opened flap and operable to stop the mechanism if the closure flap is not opened.

CHARLES THOMAS HALL. 

